UConn men’s basketball gameday capsule: Houston at UConn

UConn guard Jalen Adams, center, drives to the basket during a recent game.

UConn guard Jalen Adams, center, drives to the basket during a recent game.

Photo: The Associated Press File Photo

Photo: The Associated Press File Photo

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UConn guard Jalen Adams, center, drives to the basket during a recent game.

UConn guard Jalen Adams, center, drives to the basket during a recent game.

Photo: The Associated Press File Photo

UConn men’s basketball gameday capsule: Houston at UConn

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The UConn men’s basketball team hosts Houston On Sunday.

• When: Sunday, 1 p.m.

• Where: Gampel Pavilion

• Records: Houston 20-8 (10-6 AAC), UConn 20-8 (10-5 AAC)

• TV: CBS Sports Network

• Radio: WTIC-1080

KEEP AN EYE ON

• 50 shades of Gray: Rob Gray Jr., a JUCO transfer, leads the Cougars and the AAC in scoring at 17.1 points per game. He’s missed a few games due to injury (and disciplinary reasons), so he doesn’t quite rank among the top scorers in league play. But Gray, who’s been coming off Hosuton’s bench as a sixth man, is the leader in overall games.

“It’s a big challenge,” said UConn coach Kevin Ollie. “He’s a fabulous player. He can shoot the ball. He’s got the green light coming off the bench to shoot and change the tempo of the game. It’s going to take a big-time defensive effort from my guys to keep him from easy baskets. We want him to make contested, tough 2s if we can.”

• Jalen is jellin’: Jalen Adams continues to improve as a freshman point guard. He had a career-high matching six assists in Thursday’s win over USF, to go with 12 points.

“He’s matured a lot,” said Ollie. “Being able to be a vocal leader’s been great. We just want him to continue to get better. Continue to work on his game, not just during practice but outside of our practice. That’s what the great ones do. They get in the lab, get with their coaches and obsess on getting better. That’s what we want him to do.

I think the game is slowing down for him now. He’s reading situations better. He got his legs underneath him. It’s always and adjustment for a freshman. I think he’s adjusted very, very well, given us a spark, accepted his role off the bench and been a remarkable starter for us.”

• Perimeter ‘D’: Houston leads the AAC and ranks 10th in the nation in allowing opponents to hit only 29.84 percent of 3-pointers.